A review by carireadsbooksandtarot
Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 

A fictionalized love story about Charles Fisk, a scientist whose work was crucial to the creation of the atomic bomb. Before he is recruited to work on the top-secret government project in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Charlie meets Brenda at her parents’ music shop. Their love grows alongside the doubts and guilt he feels about working on a project that, as he fears, turns out to be a devastating weapon. 

 

Having read and loved The Glass Chateau and The Baker’s Secret, I was less impressed by Kiernan’s writing here. I felt like the book went on too long and didn’t have the beautiful writing that swept me through the other two books. I was also disappointed to find that the story of Charlie and Brenda bears little resemblance to Fisk’s real personal life. A story closer to the truth might have been more compelling. I didn’t care for Brenda and would have rather had Charlie as the primary protagonist of the story. 

 

I read it at an opportune time, as the movie Oppenheimer is currently in theaters, so it has made me more interested in the history surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb.